Breaking Down a Crochet Saved My Life Message

I recently received a Facebook message from a woman who had found my book, Crochet Saved My Life, and found herself touched by it. I, in turn, was touched by her comment. She asked to remain anonymous but has allowed me to share what she said. I’m sharing this to give a sense of why the book, why crochet, why our crafty community are all important things in my own life.

Thanks for the Crochet Book

The first part of the comment was just a lovely thanks for writing the book and offering it on Kindle . The commenter said:

“I wanted to leave a message to say THANK YOU for such a wonderful book. I’m only about 1/3 of the way through it so far and already have ‘highlighted’ so much of it on my Kindle. By the time I’m finished it’ll just be one great big highlight.”

Of course, I get a little ego boost out of this. As a self-published author it really helps to keep going through the writing process when you get that positive feedback. But more than that this also gives me the information that people are indeed finding the Kindle version read-able. This was my first attempt at publishing a title on Kindle. With my next book I want to do an interactive ebook and I’ll have more to learn to do that but this really encourages me!

Crocheting Through Depression

The commenter then continued with a little bit of her story.

“I wish so much that I had learned how to crochet years ago. I could have really done with it through the darkest days of my depression; instead I filled those days with harming myself, playing game after game of solitaire and watching kids’ programmes on TV as that was all my addled brain could cope with.

There’s so much in your book that I can relate to – passages and phrases that make me say ”Oh that’s me too!” Finding your book was like someone opening the curtains for me and letting in the sunshine.”

This is the part that really touches me. It wasn’t easy to share my story of depression. What pushed me forward to be honest with it was that I believe in the importance of our own personal truth. I believe that what I went through is something other people have gone through and that sometimes it helps when someone else voices that for us. If I can share my own truth in a way that allows another person to feel less alone then I’ve done my job as a writer.

The line that I can relate to so much in this reader’s comment is: “I wish so much that I had learned how to crochet years ago.” Did any of you ever feel this way? When I found crochet it was the right, most important time for me, but oh how I wish I could have gone back to my depressed teenage self and giving her the magic secret of a crochet hook and a ball of yarn!

Crocheting Through PMDD

One of the things that is so tricky about health and mental health is that it is always changing. We deal with one thing and then another crops up. But the coping skills we’ve learned, including how to crochet for health, are skills that we can keep coming back to. And in finishing up her comment, this reader shares her story of that:

“Depression is something that’s pretty much under control with me from day to day but I now suffer with PMDD (which is like PMS with big boots on). I find that I now have days where it’s like being back to square one. I’m lucky that I know I will feel better soon – it always passes – but in the middle of it it’s so hard and I find that my crochet work really does help.”

Point one: PMDD is a condition that affects a number of women. If you have difficulty around your menstrual cycle, including difficult emotions that sometimes mimic symptoms of depression, it’s worth trying to find a solution.

Point two: I absolutely understand those days of being back at square one. My depression is also under control but that doesn’t mean that every day is peachy and some days are really, really hard.

Point three: Crochet can help!

Not Everyone Will Say Something Nice

I’ve recently received some negative 2 star and 3 star reviews on Amazon about Crochet Saved My Life. I confess that it’s a little painful to hear things like that my personal story of depression is “dull”, that the book was “honest but not well written” and that the book was unfinishable. I try to take these things with a grain of salt, knowing that this book is going to find the readers that it is right for and since I was true to my voice in putting it out there’s really nothing else I can do. Still, it really, really helps buffer the sting of comments like those when I receive so many positive, heartfelt comments like the one I’ve detailed for you in this post.

2 Comments:

Yeah it stings when someone doesn’t appreciate your efforts, but then again, there’s 6-7 billion people on the planet, and you can’t please everyone. I also paint/draw, and not many people are ‘into’ my style, but that’s ok. It never stops me from creating. I create to create, and if it happens to please someone, then that’s great. If not, there may be another artist down the road more to that person’s liking and that’s ok too.